More families are relying on caregivers to care for a sick relative or friend. This could be a professional certified caregiver or simply another family member taking on the responsibility. However, the caregiver system needs an overhaul to support the growing number of seniors and those with dementia in the coming years.
With a system teetering on the brink of extinction within an industry expecting explosive growth, what can businesses and the public do to recruit and retain certified caregivers?
The Dangers Facing the Caregiver System
Qualified nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other caregiving businesses are competing with one another to find and keep new caregivers. Due to low pay and inconsistent hours, caregiving is facing a high turnover. With a profession that relies on long-term care, many certified caregivers move from one facility to the next for better quality conditions or pay.
It’s estimated that one in five people in the United States will be age 65 or over by the year 2030. This brings the issue of the caregiving crisis into focus as family members take on the unpaid responsibility of caring for sick relatives as well as caring for their own children. Aging parents unable to care for themselves may rely on their adult children for care, especially daughters.
JAMA Neurology points out that more women tend to assume the caregiver role compared to men. This can leave the female head of household having to cut back from a full time position to part time while caregiving.
If the family member suffers from dementia, which as many as 8.5 million of Americans will by 2030, the stress of giving round-the-clock care may be too much without an additional caregiver.
Many state Medicaid programs continue to offer the same flat rate to caregivers that has not changed for years, leaving caregivers looking for better-paying jobs. In some states, the unions that support caregivers are demanding dues from the Medicaid reimbursement, leaving even less in the caregiver’s pocket.
How Caregiver Employers Can Help
Although most caregiving facilities have their hands tied when it comes to raises, employers should consider offering their certified caregiving employees bonuses and/or more paid days off. Some nursing home owners provide their caregiving staff with special lunches or promise not to cut their hours due to the census.
Nursing home owners and caregiving business managers should stress the importance of long-term care with prospective caregivers. Dementia patients require the same caregiver every day as seeing a familiar face will make them feel safe and secure in their environment.
How the Community Can Help
High schools can also get involved in saving the caregiver system by promoting certified caregiving as a profession. Caregiving as a trade now involves training courses consisting of more than 100 hours of training as well as a standardized test in some states. In Arizona, students seeking certification need to train for 104 hours before testing.
The State of Washington requires 75 hours of training before a caregiver can work for a licensed agency, and those seeking the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) will need 85 hours. New Jersey requires 76 hours of training, and Nebraska wants 16 out of the mandatory 75 training hours supervised.
Employers of individuals faced with caring for a sick family member or friend should consider offering paid leave to the caregiver. Although it is only a temporary solution, given enough time away, the caregiver may be able to make long-term care plans. One company, Deloitte LLP, has taken this approach, offering employees 16 weeks of paid leave to care for a loved one.
In states with stagnant Medicaid reimbursement rates for caregivers, the public can speak with their Representatives about the possibility of increases.
In Illinois, a bill raising the pay wage from $12 an hour to $15 an hour for caregivers made its rounds through the Senate and the House. If more individuals bring this concern to their state’s legislation, caregivers may receive the much-needed increased pay rate and caregiving agencies may retain their best employees.
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I notice being a daughter, their is a stigma with our bodies, and taking care of our loved ones. I have teenage grown boys, they make/ cook lunch for my mom during the day. They don’t change her because understandably that’s weird for them. My husband is great with that stuff for my mom while I work during the day. He has his own business, and works mostly at night. He says he does it for me, but I know he loves her, too, as though it’s his own mom. She has always been there for us. We really need to change the way we look at life, and relationships, and caring for our elderly. Thank goodness we had a good relationship with our parents. Some people don’t. As a society, We have been told to go out on our own, get jobs, & focus on the kids, but not the elderly. They raised us, paid for a roof over a head growing up, and we should have compassion for them in their time of need. I also find it crazy all the requirements for being a caregiver, but the hospitals just briefly tell the family how to do things then send us home. There is also little stability in HH workers. Carees want stability, not multiple different caregivers they don’t feel comfortable with. Better pay and HS programs promoting Nursing, and Caregiving. If we don’t fix it, there will be major problems coming soon. . .maybe more community / day / elder health centers in more neighborhoods, offering more mobile services like nail / hair salons / pizza delivery, where someone could call a “regular” professional to help with a bath at home, or changing them, toileting, etc. sometimes caregivers don’t need all day help but meal prep, bathing and toileting helpers.
Better pay